R. Levine, C. Stillman-Lowe. BDA price £25 (members); pp 141 ISBN

9781907923074

The latest edition of this already firmly established title is an essential guide for all involved in the provision of oral health education and an ideal companion to the updated Delivering better oral health: an evidence-based toolkit for prevention which was published last year. This seventh edition of the book, which originally surfaced in 1976, has been updated to account for the ever-changing evidence base of the topic.

The book is aimed not only at the dental team, undergraduate and postgraduate dental students, but also at a public health level so that the advice contained within can be directed at individuals and organisations involved in health education in the wider healthcare world.

This is a compact yet comprehensive, easy to digest addition to the preventive literature. Divided into clearly defined sections, it takes its audience through a comprehensive tour of the diseases of the oral cavity including caries, periodontal disease and oral cancer. Throughout, the authors explain the scientific foundations and associated levels of evidence for each of the pieces of recommended advice given. Each section has a clear summary, enabling quick access to the key information.

Emphasis is rightly placed on the common risk factor approach to oral health education, focusing on tackling mutual risk factors that are shared by oral diseases and other systemic non-communicable diseases. This edition contains an expansive chapter on behavioural change, mirroring the prominence given to this topic in the updated aforementioned toolkit. The section on periodontal disease has also been updated to include a discussion on the link with diabetes and obesity.

The strength of the text is the way in which it possesses different levels of complexity to suit the needs of its different audiences; for the non-dentally qualified audience it offers comprehensive explanations of the aetiology of the common oral disease and is consistently clear in its five simple messages for oral health promotion relating to the roles of diet, fluoride, oral hygiene, dental attendance and smoking. These are easy for all to interpret and follow.

In short, this update is well tailored to the needs of its wide-ranging audiences. From the point of view of a recently qualified preventive care-minded graduate, it is an essential tool for providing scientifically sound and professional advice to patients and one that I would recommend to all with the responsibility of doing so.